A Sacred Place, Not a Truck Rodeo

Who says a cathedral has to have a ceiling?

Saunter among massive redwoods whose cores hold the history of a place too ancient to know a beginning. Hear the harmonious confluence of a song bird’s aria meld with a cool breeze meandering through the tops of swaying giants. Know the place. Experience it’s energy. Feel its sacred spirit; it is a place for contemplation, for healing, for renewal, for communion with the divine. This is Richardson Grove—this is our community.

And, if CalTrans has it’s way, this will also be the place where a caravan of large commercial trucks will barrel down Highway 101 with everything from plastic alarm clocks to GMO corn in tow. Richardson Grove, CalTrans says, must be chopped up, walled in, paved over. After all, we all want a stronger economy on the North Coast, right? We all want cheap goods from megalithic retailers, right? And, after all, you can’t stop progress. Right?

Separating myth from reality can be a tricky business when it comes to the proposed CalTrans project to widen Highway 101 through Richardson Grove. Tricky because CalTrans, industry lobbyist groups and some business owners—a small cadre that stands to benefit from the project—would like the community to believe that their efforts serve our region’s best interests. The reality is that the proposed spoiling of Richardson Grove and widening of the highway threatens the North Coast’s environment, economy and way of life.

Stakes are high and the potential impacts of this project are very real. It will take the focused energy of many different people in our community to protect Richardson Grove. EPIC is helping lead the way.

Our Bioregion, Our Community

According to CalTrans and the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) the agency prepared, there’s nothing to fret over. The project to widen Highway 101 through Richardson Grove, officials promise, will benefit Humboldt County in myriad ways—retail prices will fall, the local economy will be bolstered, travel into the county from the south will be safer and, amazingly, the environmental impact of the project will be next to nil!

Reality check. Unfortunately, the rosy picture painted by CalTrans and business owners contains flawed science, erroneous logic and the potential to change forever a rural lifestyle cherished by the residents of the North Coast. This is our bioregion, our community. The future of Humboldt County will be determined by the people—not by CalTrans and not by big box retailers.

Impacts on Environment, Economy and Lifestyle

The proposed plan calls for the removal of dozens of trees from the grove, cutting into the root systems of old-growth redwoods and disturbing critical Marbled Murrelet habitat. The EIR produced by CalTrans insufficiently addresses the project’s impact on the grove, attempting to downplay its ecological implications. Additionally, the CalTrans plan does not pass muster when put to the test of the California Environmental Quality Act and violates federal law that prohibits transportation projects on public park lands except in cases where there is no feasible alternative. Since smaller sized commercial trucks already travel through the grove to deliver goods to Humboldt County, one feasible alternative would be to leave the highway as it is and retain the integrity of Richardson Grove.

The American Society of Civil Engineers—a group about as logical and non-alarmist as they come—calls into question the notion that bigger trucks mean consumer savings. With bigger trucks, the society notes, comes wear and tear on roadways, increased traffic and decreased safety for smaller vehicles. Additionally, affording larger commercial trucks easy access via Richardson Grove only increases the chances that big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, which have already crept into Del Norte County to the north, will have an even greater incentive to set up shop in Humboldt County.

The people who call Humboldt County home are, without doubt, a diverse collection of independent thinkers. But a common thread unites the grocery clerk in Garberville, the professor at Humboldt State University and the artist in Trinidad: a desire to retain the area’s rural, unique lifestyle. Widening the highway through Richardson Grove is just the first step in a larger scheme to alter the character of the county; to rob it of its quaint charm and turn it into a replica of so many Los Angeles suburbs, replete with strip malls, chain stores and traffic congestion. The North Coast cannot sacrifice its soul for cheap flip-flops at Wal-Mart. We cannot let CalTrans destroy our natural heritage.

Solutions

The people of the North Coast must make their voices heard. Tell CalTrans that widening the highway is not good for the environment and not good for the North Coast’s economy. Stand with your neighbors, stand with your community and resist the attempts of government and big business to harm Richardson Grove. EPIC, along with the Trees Foundation and citizen groups, is leading the way in preventing CalTrans from implementing its ill-conceived project. With the help of the people of Northern California, we can save Richardson Grove and preserve our bioregion’s unparalleled quality of life. Help EPIC make a stand, get involved or donate.